General Motors (GM) said it is laying off 2000 employees in Lordstown, Ohio; Orion Township, Mich.; and Oshawa, Ontario, starting in February due to slowing demand for their products.

In 2008, GM has announced 11,000 factory worker layoffs in total. GM reported earlier this week that its U.S. sales fell 41 percent in November when compared with the same month last year.

The Bottom Line

Some politicians are arguing that this morning's weak employment numbers should push Congress into hurrying a bailout for the auto industry. Congress needs to put a proper plan in place, should they go ahead and approve a bailout. The worst thing is a shot-gun reaction to any economic news. Again, we would avoid speculating in shares of GM or Ford (F) at this point. For short-term investors there may be some opportunities, but even that requires one to be super-nimble. We'd look elsewhere for better long-term opportunities.

General Motors (GM) does not currently pay a dividend.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.